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A Florida based musician and self-proclaimed proprietor of all things chill, Justin Weems started the Faint Waves project in 2013 and after a couple years of musical trial and error, found his sound. Taking a worldbeat-inspired approach to electronic music that could largely be described as chillout or easy listening, Faint Waves found an audience in the balearic realm. It's easy to see why, as Faint Waves' passionate use of downtempo beats, new age synths, and diverse instrumentation is right in line with the eclectic melting pot that is balearic beat. Tags like chillout, downtempo, exotica, and new age all apply, as Faint Waves explores worldly and tropical themes across lush beds of sound. With all this said, Faint Waves' music is simply best described as mellow mood music, regardless of the genres he's working in. Fit for sunrises and sunsets, Faint Waves' otherworldly and emotive instrumentals are sure to provide a unique listening experience every time. In addition to releasing his unique music independently, he's worked with labels such as Eclectics, Higher Love Recordings, Real Balearic, Café del Mar, and now NuNorthern Soul.
With 3 original tracks by Faint Waves, Islands In Time is a soft focus audio odyssey, with a wide range of diverse influences. From the soulful piano licks of "Aphrodesia" to the Seahawks-like ambience of "Eternal Seas", there's an ebb and flow between jazzy melodics and dream pop tonality. That's not to say it isn't a consistent release though, as each track moves like water into the next, propelled by washes of synthesizers and ocean waves. Clearly informed by 90's chillout and 80's adult contemporary, Islands In Time is perhaps best characterized by its melodic piano passages, deep drums, and aquatic synth pads. All of this makes for an introspective, languid musical exploration. The journey is a downtempo trip across distant seas and to empty, remote beaches of white sand and palm trees. Lush and organic in sound with ambient effects, the listener will be transported to a wistful far-off location, as the sounds drift through their mind.
Both Plastic Fantastic and NuNorthern Soul label boss take the Aphrodesia track and add their deft touches to create more audio adventures and sonic sojourns. Plastic Fantastic extend the original track to a wondrous 11+ minutes, creating pure sunset magic, while Phil takes a more dubby approach and adds an extra live bassline to take it on a different tangent. A drum-less dub is also available for those extended post Sunset moments of calm and clarity.
NuNorthern Soul has been running events since 1996, the label, which was formed in 2012, is about presenting a rich tapestry of music, not restricted by genre or production techniques, it is not a SOUL music label, but a label for music with SOUL.
London label Blank Mind takes an unprecedented deep dive into the early-’90s love triangle between breakbeat hardcore, jungle, and new age. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 28, 2024
Pivoting from German to English, disco to soft rock, the groovy Swiss duo branch out on their first album in six years. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 28, 2024